Once again, FI&C was well-represented in the annual Super Lawyers survey of Ohio attorneys conducted by Law & Politics Magazine and by Cincinnati Magazine. For the second year in a row, Charlie Faruki was selected not only as one of Ohio's Super Lawyers, but also as one of Ohio's Top Ten Lawyers. Jeff Ireland and Jeff Cox also repeated as Super Lawyers in this statewide survey, and Bob Bartlett joined the Super Lawyers list for the first time in 2005.

The Dayton Business Journal recently published its 2005 Book of Lists. FI&C again ranked third in size on the list of Dayton-Area Law Firms (ranked by number of local lawyers). The firm has the largest litigation group in this area. The firm's goal has always been client service, not size; the size of the firm results from client demands.

Last month, Charlie Faruki, Paul Horstman and Jeff Sharkey won an appeal before the Ohio Supreme Court, on behalf of FI&C client The Dayton Power and Light Company ("DP&L"). The case was a direct appeal from a decision of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, made after an evidentiary hearing, and involved the rates and terms that DP&L would charge to its customers during a transition in Ohio from regulated to deregulated electricity markets. Charlie Faruki argued the case to the Supreme Court. This is the second case that FI&C handled before the Ohio Supreme Court in 2004, and FI&C won both cases.

Brad Anderson, one of FI&C's senior associates, is the newly-elected Vice President of Health Partners of Miami County, and will also serve that organization as Chair of its Board Development Committee. Health Partners is a nonprofit corporation that provides free health care to uninsured and underinsured residents of Miami County, Ohio, through the operation of a weekly free clinic. Brad will also help Health Partners with its capital campaign to raise funds for the purchase of a medical office suite to broaden Health Partners' service offerings to its clients.

Eli Kiefaber and Katie Wahl, the first two associates to participate in the start of the FI&C/Montgomery County Public Defender externship program, are in the final stages of their externships. This externship program is a pro bono publico effort by the firm, and a significant training opportunity for the firm's associates. FI&C created the externship program in the Fall of 2004 to assist selected associates in gaining hands-on jury trial experience early in their legal careers. Initially, Eli and Katie represented indigent defendants at preliminary hearings for felony charges in Dayton Municipal Court, and handled criminal cases on the dockets of Montgomery County Common Pleas Judges Huffman, Langer and Froelich; they then graduated to handling suppression hearings as well as sitting second chair on felony jury trials in Common Pleas Court.  Over the course of the externship, Eli and Katie have represented over 40 indigent defendants. Both Eli and Katie report that they further developed their trial practice skills by participating in the externship, gaining valuable stand-up experience cross‑examining witnesses at preliminary and suppression hearings, sitting second chair for felony jury trials and participating in all aspects of felony jury trials. Eli and Katie will wrap up their externship experience in the first few months of 2005 when they each sit second chair on two upcoming murder trials and as first chair, assisted by an attorney from the Public Defender's office, in three to four felony jury trials. 

FI&C is eager to have Eli and Katie return to FI&C to share their experiences with others and to put their newly-developed skills to work. FI&C and the Montgomery County Public Defender's Office both agree that the externship program has been a tremendous success and are committed to continuing the relationship. FI&C associates Brian Wright and Andy Reitz have been selected as the next externship participants and will begin their externships in early February 2005.